Vehicles may include sliding doors that selectively cover a door opening to allow passenger ingress and egress from the vehicle. Repositioning the sliding door between an open position and a closed position conventionally includes moving the sliding door in a vehicle longitudinal direction along a track that is coupled to the vehicle body. To reposition the sliding door between the open position and the closed position, the track may guide the door outboard in a vehicle lateral direction so that the sliding door may move along an outside of the vehicle in the longitudinal direction.
To guide the sliding door outboard in the vehicle lateral direction, conventional rails include an arc or curve that extends inboard in the vehicle lateral direction. To accommodate the curve or arc in the rail, the body of the vehicle may include a discontinuity or pocket extending inboard from the vehicle body and positioned around the curve of the rail. The discontinuity may reduce the strength or stiffness of the vehicle body as evaluated in the vehicle lateral direction, which may reduce the ability of the body to absorb energy in the event of a side impact.
Accordingly, a need exists for alternative slide assemblies that move a sliding door in the vehicle lateral direction. By moving the sliding door in the vehicle lateral direction, the slide assembly may reduce the need for a curve in the track, thereby reducing the need for discontinuities in the vehicle body, which may increase the strength and/or stiffness of the vehicle body.